It's always instructive to see yourself through the eyes of others. Portland, Maine, and Portland, Oregon, have this funny symmetrical relationship, and we, on the right coast, although older, are clearly the smaller. How interesting then to hear a voice from Oregon seeing us as a more uplifting model than their northern neighbor. Don Kahle, a quirky commentator from Eugene, Oregon, clearly has his own perspective. In his recent post, "The Other Portland," Don says, "Portland, Maine is a city with half Eugene’s population and double its pride.... As a city, it’s comfortable in its own skin." He goes on to tell the industrial history of Portland, brilliantly calling the narrow-gauge railroad, "that era’s Betamax — a smarter solution that lost in the market." At least, he points out, we got a museum out of it. He brings the Portland story up to date by discussing the arts district and waterfront, two things Eugene wishes it had more of, and linking to LiveWorkPortland (thanks, Don.) He concludes that, "Portland, Maine has bet its next future on what urbanists call the creative economy. If it fails, they’ll build another museum."

Tags: infrastructure, live in portland, work in portland